Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
The riotous rockers brought the house down at O2 City Hall last week
Image by Brian Nicholson
At the O2 City Hall in Newcastle we were promised A Night With Halestorm, and they delivered everything we expected and more – no support acts, no loops or pre-recorded vocals here, just a night of Halestorm and only Halestorm at their absolute best.
The event took place the day after International Womens Day, and as Lzzy Hale came out on her own to open the show, she paid tribute to the female legends of rock who forged the path for all the incredible female-led music we have today. Dear Daughter made me incredibly emotional from the get go, unexpectedly ready to cry after less than 15 minutes of the show starting.
After a series of piano and vocal-led tracks, we got into the meat of the band’s show. Going to a gig is a slightly vampiric experience, particularly in the world of rock; everyone dressed in black in a dimly lit room, the audience feed off of the performers, and they feed off of the energy of the crowd. And as the full band came out, the room filled with the kind of chaotic atmosphere that only rock can bring.
Lzzy Hales’ iconic raspy, yet strong vocals sounded exactly the same as they do on record. Her vocal runs bounced around the entire room with as much power as the guitars. Drummer Arejay Hale certainly showed his own incredible skills in a drum solo set that brought the audience into the action, calling for our voices to join his routine.
But it wasn’t only the music they used to entertain us, Arejay came back with a series of bad jokes that had us all cheering and booing with equal levels of joy. Lzzy also had a lot of conversation with us, talking to two members of the audience who were there on their birthday, including a little girl celebrating with her mother.
Even with all of this talking and joking, we were not short of music. After two hours of close to non-stop performance, the crowed stomped their feet for more and the band was ready to give it to us. When they came back on stage with Here’s To Us, the sound was just as fresh and loud as though they’d only just started, and a guitar shredding 10-minute version of I Miss The Misery was a real highlight.
